Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to welding electrode holders. More particularly the present invention relates to a device that has spring loaded jaws to hold a welding electrode perpendicularly to the electrode holder handle.
Description of Related Art
Traditional electrode holders for stick welding include either a spin loose and spin tight electrode holder, or a clamp having jaws that are parallel to the electrode holder handle. Each of these suffers from a number of disadvantages.
The spin loose and spin tight electrode holders suffer from making the process of replacing electrodes very slow and cumbersome. Replacement of electrodes must be done frequently throughout a day's work, which results in excessive down time for a welder when using such an electrode holder.
The parallel jaw clamp electrode holders, while allowing easy replacement of electrodes, do not firmly and securely hold the electrode. This makes it more difficult to use, especially when finesse is required, and can lead to unsafe and unstable operation.
Therefore, what is needed is a device that may provide stable electrode holding for stick welding, that may also allow for quick and easy replacement of the electrodes.